Raising a family can be like the Israelites wandering in the desert: you need a banner to follow or you may wander for forty years. Learn how to develop a Biblical standard that fits the needs of your family and will keep you on course when the desert gets hot and the manna is old. (Companion workshop “Let This be a Sign”)

“Love her honesty, humor, and truthfulness.”

Let This be a Sign

God instructed the Israelites to build memorials so that when the children asked, the parents would have an answer to the mighty things God had done for them. Preserving heritage, creating memorials, for children has become lost in our modern society. Susan tells how to begin now creating memorials to pass on to your family, no matter the age of your children or grandchildren. (Companion workshop “Developing a Standard with No Compromise”)

The God of Paper Clips*

It’s so easy to get bogged down in the details in the details of our lives. Groceries, baseball practice, cleaning the bathroom are all good things. Too often we try to do it all in our own strength, forgetting whom God is and what he wants to do for us. Susan talks about allowing God to take care of the details so we can do his work with peace.

Humble Yourself? Conflict Resolution

Our mothers taught us “it takes two to tango.” Too often we think that we are not one of the two. By looking at God’s Word we find conflict may begin with us, and peace may also begin with us. By humbling ourselves before our God and others we can learn to resolve conflicts in our homes, our ministries, and our communities.

Our Fractured Family*

Do you sometimes feel like you’ve missed one of God’s steps in parenting? You’ve tried everything mentioned in the books and your family still doesn’t look like the ones we see on the internet or sitting in front of us in church? Have you found out that you aren’t raising saints? This intimate and personal session discuss what appears to our human eyes to be failures. Susan presents a personal testimony about God’s victories in her fractured family.

“Honest, vulnerable, encouraging. <It’s> hard to look at failure BUT a must. You hit on unchanging truths and reminded me of God’s word accordingly and that I must be abandoned to Him.”

“It’s reminded me of God’s promises.”

Development and Preschool Learning

Many of us worry our very young children are not going to be “ready to learn” when they start school. Every day we see and hear ads for learning toys and experiences. From birth, children go through various stages of growth and learning. By recognizing these development stages, you can capture learning moments without special toys, groups, or even preschool. (Companion workshops “Wake Up and Smell the Crayons”)

Wake Up and Smell The Crayons

The need for preschool is a hot topic. Do you need to send your child to preschool? Are formal academics necessary? Why do you need to start teaching at the age of 2? Will your child fall behind without “school”? Following a child’s natural development stages, Susan answers these questions and offers practical suggestions for what preschoolers really need. (Companion workshop “Development and Preschool Learning”)